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Does your age sometimes take you by surprise?

Ally T

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On Monday this week it was my 47th Birthday. That feels really rather old & on the 'wrong side' of 40 :-o

I have never really looked as old as I am (thank heavens) but my mind still believes I am 27. I literally stopped counting at 27. And yet here i am, 20 years on. When my parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, I was 16. I thought they were & looked really quite old. In hindsight, they were younger than I am now :lol: I call my mother ALL the time for advice. Mr T & I were talking last week about how you look to your parents & know they are sensible & they have all the answers. But the reality is, our children look to us in the same way, but we KNOW as parents we are completely winging it. I asked my mother the question & she said yes, totally winging it & now winging it as a grandmother to 9 children.

Does anybody else ever feel taken by surprise at the reality of their age?
 

jaysonsmom

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On Monday this week it was my 47th Birthday. That feels really rather old & on the 'wrong side' of 40 :-o

I have never really looked as old as I am (thank heavens) but my mind still believes I am 27. I literally stopped counting at 27. And yet here i am, 20 years on. When my parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, I was 16. I thought they were & looked really quite old. In hindsight, they were younger than I am now :lol: I call my mother ALL the time for advice. Mr T & I were talking last week about how you look to your parents & know they are sensible & they have all the answers. But the reality is, our children look to us in the same way, but we KNOW as parents we are completely winging it. I asked my mother the question & she said yes, totally winging it & now winging it as a grandmother to 9 children.

Does anybody else ever feel taken by surprise at the reality of their age?

All the time! I still want to be at the kid's table at holidays, and I'm waiting for my elders to host holiday dinners with the extended family.....but the older generation are all too old and tired to host, and everyone turns to me. I'm 48 and as I'm typing, feeling very much like an empty nester because both my kids are driving teens and out with friends as we speak.
 

Lisa Loves Shiny

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Yes. I am still quite limber and can physically do many of the same things I did as a teenager and young adult. I look younger than my age but at times I see myself in pictures and the reality of my age sinks in as I view my aging skin.

I was playing with the grandkids at the park on the playground equipment yesterday (swinging on the bars, running on the balance beams) and a dad asked me "how do you do it?" To me it was fun. Maybe I looked ridiculous. I don't know.
 

Bron357

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I’m 60 next month, woo hoo, and STILL waiting to grow up!
looks unlikely at this late stage ha ha.
Yes, the wrinkles and thickened waist do alert me to the fact I’m growing older, but I’m living my best life.
When younger I was terribly insecure and worried about what people thought of me. Watching my weight, following fashion trends, it was exhausting sometimes. These days I’m ”in your face so look out”.
Im happy and fearless.
Go me :dance:
 

missy

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Definitely. In my head I feel 28 but my chronological age is (almost) double that.

Anyway my philosophy is you are only as old as you feel. And whatever age you are is the perfect age at that time.

“Each year is special and precious for you shall only live it once”. Louise Hayes
 

canuk-gal

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HI:

Oh for sure, but good thing I don't think about it often.

@Alex T Happy Birthday! I'd love to be 47 again!

cheers--Sharon
 

eapj

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Yep. I can’t believe that I’m the age I am (late 40s) yet there is such freedom and happiness in it! I don’t have kids and I think as a result I never really had to grow up!
 
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This was literally me last week! Someone asked me how old I am. It took me a moment and some mental math to realize I'm no longer 31. I blame having a kid. It seems like I've "frozen" at the age I had my first kid and now my birthdays just come and go.
 

ringbling17

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Yes! I am 48 years old and sometimes I meet someone who is younger than me or my age and I think- Boy, they look so much older than me. Then I realize they must be thinking the same thing about me! LOL!!!
 

Piper70

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Yes, it happened yesterday. I keep forgetting that I’m 53 and am constantly surprised that my various body parts hurt after physical activity that used to be so easy! I think I look younger than I am and probably dress younger ( only work part time so jeans and T-shirt most of the time ). Though, I am also the person everyone relies on and that makes me feel older sometimes. It’s exhausting.
 

tyty333

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I couldnt agree more. I have never felt my age. I have a really big birthday coming up and I really cant believe it! In my head I'm only
about 45:lol:!
 

canuk-gal

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HI:

My colleague told me the other day that I was "very young for my (biological) age". I was dumbfounded. Then I gave her $500.00. :P2 :lol:

cheers--Sharon
 

Elizabeth35

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For you younger folks (I am 63)--age is a number and seriously, if you don't 'feel' mentally and physically younger than your age, you are doing something wrong!
The older I get, the less I worry about what others think.
Yeah--I am a little sad that my runway is getting shorter. But it makes me try to pack as much joy, fun and happiness in each day. I am not willing to do things I deem unpleasant, like bridal showers-lol. I value my time and only spend it doing things that bring me joy.
 

Dancing Fire

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Wish I was still 47. HB Alex! :appl::appl:
 

GoldenTouch

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I turn 47 this year. I gave to think about my age before I answer if someone asks. My daughter reminds me. I don’t feel it & people tell me I don’t look it (but perhaps they are being kind?? H
 

elle_71125

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I‘m constantly telling my DH that I don’t feel like a grown up on the inside. I still love bike rides, going for ice cream, playing on the swings, and jumping at the trampoline park. I’m a big kid and loving every minute of it.

I thought maybe I felt that way because I never had kids of my own...but I see quite a few mom’s on here who seem to feel the same way. I think there’s a lot of joy to be found in feeling forever young...even if your outsides don’t always agree.

Side note: I F’d up my back, for almost 2 weeks, after bending over and moving my old pug. I didn’t feel so young then...:lol:
 

Matata

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My age doesn't take me by surprise but the fact that I've survived to date often does. When I think back to the traumatic events that I lived through, I remember going into survival mode at those particular times and wondering how/if I'd get through whatever it was. Some of the things permanently scarred me, followed me into the present, and continue to cause anxiety. But when I look back, it's difficult for me to believe that that stuff actually happened. It seems surreal.
 

lulu_ma

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Hey, don't feel bad-you could be me. My mother was 3 years older than me when I got married. I, on the other hand, I have a kindergartner :loopy:
 

stracci2000

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It was Senior Discount Day at the thrift shop.
I pulled out my ID to show the young man at the cash register.
He couldn't believe I am 56.
I can't believe I'm 56 either. o_O
 

nala

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Ugh! I just came to this realization at a retirement party last week! I have taught for 24 years at my school and am now the most senior teacher in my department ! There are two older teachers but they transferred in from other districts so yes, I do have the honor of being the most experienced and long-standing…and yet, it feels like just yesterday that I started teaching. Sigh. I could easily be a principal by now bc I do have the degree, credential and opportunity—but I love teaching, and have no interest in working with adults. Lol. But that’s not to say that I don’t wonder what if, every once in a while and then I start to reflect on how time flies and how I kept saying that when the time felt right, I would do it…

At 47, I feel youthful and bc I live in So
Cal, I feel entitled to wear mini skirts, short shorts, etc. My hubby is an enabler bc he sincerely appreciates my style. But…recently, I have given up short cocktail dresses, plunging necklines—watching the real housewives of Beverly Hills has sort of put things into perspective about aging gracefully. For me, I’m not Interested in a face lift, Botox, etc. or dressing “young”—I’m transitioning to a new stage in my life and am excited to embrace it.
I want to add that I grew up with a mom and 4 older sisters who have always prized youthfulness for the sake of vanity—as in the younger you look the more beautiful you are—and I really am hyper sensitive to falling into that trap. Time and tide wait for no one—
 
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Ally T

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I love these answers & thank you all for sharing!

I think I also feel on the younger side because my children at only 10 & 12 (I was late to the marriage game) so I am constantly rushing around to school, ballet classes, going for walks, running etc. We went kayaking & paddle boarding last Saturday & I loved it!

I guess kids keep us on the younger side & I am thankful i am healthy & well & able to keep up with them.

The other day all my washing came out of the machine soggy. I was completely convinced the washer was broken. Then my mum said I'd overloaded it & it wouldn't have been able to spin. My response was "how the f**k am I supposed to know that overloading the washer will make it not spin?? I'm only 47!!!" :lol:
 

dk168

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Yes when I find peeps of my age are grandparents! :lol-2:

I am childless by choice. The baby that I baby-sat when he was 2 weeks old, who put me off being a parent forever, is nearly 40 himself! :lol-2:

No regret what-so-ever, it was one of the best decisions I have made.

In my final year at college studying for a degree that led to a professional qualification as a HCP, the college held reunions for their alumni some 30+ years after they left college, and I remember me and my fellow students commenting how old they were etc...

I am now in that age group myself, having graduated over 30+ years ago. :roll2::lol-2:

Mind you, I have yet to attend a reunion of my class, no one appears to be bothered about organising one, and I have lost touch with them through the years, hey ho!

DK :))
 

Austina

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Happy belated birthday @Alex T, you’re still a youngster :lol: I can’t believe I’ll be 62 soon:shock: When I think back, when I met Mr A, his mother was about my age and she was really old!!!

I do think in our heads, we all feel younger than we are, and fortunately I’m very healthy. I was out for hours last week pressure washing our driveway, then sanding and sealing it. I would hope people think I’m younger than I am, it’s only when I stop and think about how much time has gone by and how much time is left, that reality hits.
 

dk168

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I'll be 60 soon, and have already started to plan how to celebrate it!

DK :lol-2:
 

ZestfullyBling

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Happy Belated BDay @Alex T !!!

You are 1yr younger than me. My 48th will be in here this fall.

I always get compliments on my youthful appearance and in my mind, for reason, I'm like in my late 20's. Until I after I do some yard work or mow lawn and i have these all over aches and pains and can barely walk... Then I'm like 'okay ole lady simmer down nah'.
 
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